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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25326097">“...By My Side...”</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon'>Arthuria_PenDragon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Souls of Fire [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade Metal Saga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Ending, Alternate Ending - Beyblade Metal Fight 4D, Alternate Ending - Beyblade Metal Fury, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anime, Constellations, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Growing Up, Heirloom, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Male Friendship, Memorials, Memories, Mental Maturity, Mentor &amp; Protégé, Mentor/Protégé, One Shot, POV Yumiya Kenta, Possibly Out of Character, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It of Sorts, Sad, Song: War (Poets of the Fall), Songfic, What-If, heritage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:06:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,882</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25326097</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryuga was gone, but he would forever be with him, Kenta knew. The fire in his soul and the Bey in his hand were the only proof he needed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kishatu Ryuuga &amp; L-Drago, Kishatu Ryuuga &amp; Yumiya Kenta, L-Drago &amp; Sagittario (Metal Fight Beyblade), Yumiya Kenta &amp; L-Drago, Yumiya Kenta &amp; Sagittario</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Souls of Fire [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834333</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>“...By My Side...”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kenta stood in the shadows, quietly observing as his friends trained down in the stadium, while laughing and joking. They were getting ready for another Japan-wide competiton, which the WBBA had announced two weeks ago, to try and cast an illusion of normality, after the near-destruction of the world.  It had been months, since they’d defeated Rago and Nemesis, but things were only getting back to normal slowly. The tournoment was a reassurance for the people that the WBBA and the government were working together for a better, safer future.</p><p>He could not bring himself to walk down and join them. When he had first tried, some unnamed feeling had taken hold of his whole body, freezing on the spot. It took moments, to make his body respond to his brain again, but even then, he could only get <em>away</em> from the gang.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Do you remember standing on a broken field<br/>White crippled wings beating the sky<br/>The harbingers of war with their nature revealed<br/>And our chances flowing by</em> </strong>
</p><p>Kenta looked down at his new Beyblade. The last piece of his friend and mentor, Ryuga. His legacy. <em>L-Drago Guardian S130MB.</em></p><p>The Bey, which was even more powerful, than L-Drago Destructor. And Ryuga had trusted <em>him</em> with that power. This new L-Drago was a Defence Type, unlike those before and of course, unlike Saggitario. He’d been used to the stagant fighting mode of a Stamina Type... but he would try. He would adjust and master this new power he had. Ryuga would not have left him with <em>L-Drago</em> of all things –L-Drago had been Ryuga’s most precious posession and companion,– if the older had not trusted him. And Kenta had seen it in his eyes. The <em>trust</em> – so powerful, that when their eyes had met, dark brown on amber-gold, he had almost lost his footing. He felt the weight of the world settle on his shoulders, when Ryuga had looked into his eyes.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>If I can let the memory heal<br/>I will remember you with me on that field</em> </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>The shadows of Nemesis' power crept further, wider. They were fighting with all their might, but they could not hope to win, if they couldn’t form Zeus’ Barrier, to seal Nemesis away, once and for all. But for that, the four bladers of the Seasons were needed together and Ryuga was still unconscious. (And as they’d come in, Kenta had stolen a glance at L-Drago Destructor. The Bey had several parts missing, large cracks across it and he doubted it could be repaired, much less that L-Drago had enough strenght to join and help form the Barrier.)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And then, suddenly, there was light.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blinding blue and clear white, banishing the darkness, just a bit. Everyone froze and turned towards the light. It was Ryuga, standing, battered and beaten, looking nothing like the emperor he’d always claimed to be. Yet... yet there was something in his eyes, that scared Kenta. It scared him, but it also gave him hope.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ryuga...!” he called, shocked and relieved to see his friend and mentor on his feet. The others were muttering in disbelief too, but Kenta didn’t care. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Their eyes met. Hopeful dark brown and sharp gold, filled with sparks of fire and blue light.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“That one time, it was only for a brief shining moment, I became serious. I promised. TAKE IT, KENTA!!!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kenta watched in shock, as L-Drago Destructor went flying towards the arena, straight for Saggitario. The former Forbidden Bey started circling Saggitario and a link of light formed between the two and Kenta felt the power flood him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Take care of him for me.” Ryuga’s soft, eerie voice drifted trough his senses. Soft, yet cutting and powerful, forcing others to listen, to obey. “You, my friend. I might not be able to fight anymore, but L-Drago’s fire is not yet gone, the Dragon Emperor preserves. And you Kenta, you have the fire of dragons in you. My Heir.”</em>
</p><p><em>Kenta watched in shock, as one of the two Beys disintegrated in sparks of blue-white light, almost like tiny stars. He tore his gaze away from the stadium to look at Ryuga, to protest – to tell him L-Drago was </em>his<em> to use and that he had Saggitario.</em></p><p>
  <em>But Ryuga was gone, the light that had flooded the Temple slowly fading, sparks drifting upwards. A lump grew in Kenta’s troath. As he looked down at the stadium, he saw it. No one noticed, as it could not be seen with the naked eye, but Kenta knew the difference. He sensed it. Down there in the arena, that Bey... that spirit...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fire leapt to the surface, from the very depths of his soul, as scorching and destructive, as loud his cry was. “RYUGA!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Flames of gold and red surorunded him, so powerful, that even his friends were forced to take a step back, lest the power overwhelmed them. Kenta’s eyes – flashing gold, for a second– were levelled on the cause of this all. On Rago and Nemesis.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You will not walk away from here. I swear it on the fire we now share with Ryuga.” he growled, determination lacing his words, like cold, hard iron. “ROAR NOW, L-DRAGO GUARDIAN!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Bey glowed and the familiar red dragon with burning eyes rose above them, arching even over Nemsis, draped in golden armour. The dragon roared, its voice shaking the walls of the already crumbling temple and then it lunged... </em>
</p><p>
  <strong> <em>When I thought that I fought this war alone<br/>You were there by my side on the frontline<br/>When I thought that I fought without a cause<br/>You gave me a reason to try</em> </strong>
</p><p>Trough every strike, trough every wave of power, Ryuga was there with him. Some would say it was just conjured up by his mind in haste, to deal with the shock of that scene, but Kenta knew it was not true. Ryuga had been gone, yet he remained there, watching. And trough every strike he’d dealt Nemesis, he felt not only his and Saggitario’s power, but Ryuga’s as well. L-Drago’s.</p><p>Flames of gold and orange-red had merged into one, to create a blazing, endless inferno. He could feel, strike by strike, as L-Drago chipped away at Nemsis’ power. It was a slow process, but it was there. Of course, he knew he could not rely on L-Drago’s spin steal – he could not hope to take all that power. Even Ryuga had failed with that. But it was a spark of hope.</p><p>Once, the ability that had made it near impossible for him to win against Ryuga, the ability he’d loathed... <em>that</em> ability gave them hope to win. Gave them a beacon to follow, trough the dark.</p><p>He woved then to win – for Ryuga.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Turn the page I need to see something new<br/>For now my innocence is torn<br/>We cannot linger on this stunted view<br/>Like rabid dogs of war</em> </strong>
</p><p>Rago and Nemesis had taken the one person Kenta had cherished the most. He would have never thought, that Ryuga would be his friend. And in the last months of thei travels together, Kenta would have gladly called the white-haired Blader his brother, if not for the fear of retailiation. (He could not risk Ryuga pushing him away, when they’d come so far.)</p><p>
  <strong> <em>I will let the memory heal<br/>I will remember you with me on that field</em> </strong>
</p><p>But now, with L-Drago in his hand and with that power blazing in his soul, like a bonfire, Kenta knew he had naught to worry about. He could have said those words, before they’d parted ways with Ryuga...</p><p>Brother.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>When I thought that I fought this war alone<br/>You were there by my side on the frontline<br/>And we fought to believe the impossible<br/>When I thought that I fought this war alone<br/>We were one with our destinies entwined<br/>When I thought that I fought without a cause<br/>You gave me the reason why</em> </strong>
</p><p>For Ryuga had been a friend. A mentor. <em>A brother</em>.</p><p>“Hey, Kenchi!“ Yu called, as upbeat, as ever, his voice bouncing about in the quiet of the arena.</p><p>It seemed, they were done battling – altough Kenta could not for dear life recall the outcomes. (A part of him, the part used to dwelling in the wild, chided him to pay attention to details, to possible dangers. And that voice, that chided him, was just a bit too much like Ryuga’s irrate tone.) Kenta shifted from his spot, slowly walking down the steps, closer to his friends.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>With no-one wearing their real face<br/>It's a whiteout of emotion<br/>And I've only got my brittle bones to break the fall</em> </strong>
</p><p>He gave Yu a look and the younger stood up straighter. “I’d appreciate, if you called me Kenta, Yu.” he said sternly, but not unkindly.</p><p>(Even after all that had happened, Yu had remained his optimistic, tad-bit childish self. A part of Kenta envied Yu for that. He had grown up much too fast, with Ryuga around... with <em>this</em> power in his hand.) L-Drago’s power was <em>not</em> a toy for the whims of men – Kenta knew that. He would never forget the brief words Ryuga had spoken about the Battle Bladers – about the time, when L-Drago had not been one, but three, skinking his claws into his mentor’s very soul.</p><p>Yu sighed, the edge of his good mood gone in a second. “<em>Kenta</em>.” he corrected sulkily. “Can we have a match? You’d not played in ages.”</p><p>
  <strong> <em>When the love in letters fade<br/>It's like moving in slow motion<br/>And we're already too late if we arrive at all</em> </strong>
</p><p>Ever since they’d come back to Japan, he’d changed. Or at least, that was what the others thought. That the way back, he’d been sad and in shock and that this change – this distance, was caused by his sadness.</p><p>Kenta had tried telling them it was not the case, but they remained deaf to his words, blisfully ignorant of the weight he now carried on his shoulder. Kenta raised an eyebrow, slowly.</p><p>“I do not <em>play</em>, Yu.” he said as calmly as before. Keeping a calm, clear head was the key to keeping all that scorching power under control. No wonder the damage had always been bigger, when Ryuga’s calm mask had slipped...</p><p>Yu groaned and rolled his eyes with another huff. Kenta felt the heavy, prickling stares of the others –Gingka’s was the hardest to ignore. Gingka’s, who’d known Ryuga the second best, Kenta reasoned. Surely, the master of Cosmic Pegasus had picked up on the changes in him. That whenever out of his room and without his sketchpad, full of the memories he shared with Ryuga (only Gingka had seen the drawings and that had been a total accident), he was different.</p><p>Just a tiny bit more serious. A tiny bit more caotious. Keeping a step distance.</p><p>Like Ryuga had. Okay, Ryuga had kept five steps distance from everyone and even when they’d grown close, there were the ever-present two steps. Back then, Kenta had not understood <em>why</em>. Now he did. For safety. His <em>safety</em> – Ryuga didn’t want him to be seriously harmed by L-Drago’s power, if he ever lost the grip on his emotions and not-so-nice memories, from his time with Doji. (Kenta was so glad the bastard was dead for <em>real</em>.)</p><p>“Ah, you <em>know</em> what I mean...!” Yu whined. Kenta raised his eyebrow again. Yu grumpled something rude (he could not catch, what it was, but Kenta was sure it was vaguely directed at both him and Ryuga) and Tsubasa whacked him lightly upside the head, with a stern look. Yu rolled his eyes at Tsubasa, before looking back at him. “Can we have a <em>Beybattle</em>?” he clarified.</p><p>Kenta’s lips twitched upwards, into a shadow of a smile. (He had not smiled for real, since <em>then</em>.) ”Yes, we can.”</p><p>
  <strong> <em>And then we're caught up in the arms race<br/>An involuntary addiction<br/>And we're shedding every value our mothers taught</em> </strong>
</p><p>They walked up to the stadium and Kenta took out his new launcher. When they’d made it back to Japan – telling Director Hagane, what had happened, during the flight back,– the WBBA provided him with a custom-made launcher. A launcher fit for L-Drago. One for Left spin.</p><p>Yu’s deep green eyes were glinting with excitement. The Libra Blader had been trying to get a fight out of him, since afforementioned flight home. It had been months ago and so far, Kenta had refused him, not really in the mood for it. He needed time to grieve Ryuga and only <em>after</em> he’d dealt with the burnt of his grief, could he start to safely train with his new Bey. (Despite his caution, he still ended up burning most of the forest down, behind their house, almost giving his parents a heart attack.)</p><p>They both pulled out their launchers, attaching their Beys. “Three!” Yu called, a grin stretching on his face.</p><p>“Two!“ Kenta continoued, the excitement and the power of his Bey making his blood boil. Time to show everyone, how much stronger he’d gotten – time to show them, what he was capable of, with <em>L-Drago</em>, as his Bey and partner.</p><p>“One!” Gingka, Madoka and Tsubasa joined in, their eyes glinting with curiousty. Madoka already had her laptop out, to analise everything, like she usually did.</p><p><em>“Let it Rip!”</em> he called together with Yu. The ripcords were torn from their place and both Beys flew into the stadium. The two Beys clashed and the energy released caused a great wind.</p><p>“Whoah, Kenta! You’re really stronger!” Yu called, “Go Libra!” the green Bey attacked L-Drago wildly and Kenta felt the waves of power, sallowed by the fire. Yu was feeding L-Drago. Had the times of the Dark Nebula been so long ago, that the younger had forgotten why L-Drago was so feared and powerful?</p><p>He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to find his connection with L-Drago. It was hard, when trough the Star Fragment, it was Ryuga’s power coming trough. By having L-Drago with him, he had Ryuga by his side. No matter what, his mentor would always be close by, Kenta knew that now.</p><p>When he found it, he coaxed it onto the surface and as his eyes flew open, they reflected the golden-red light of his Bey. With a strong push, L-Drago sent Libra skidding backwards. The move was so sudden, that Yu looked at him in shock and his green eyes went wide, when their gazes met.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>So will you please show me your real face<br/>Draw the line in the horizon<br/>Cos I only need your name to call the reasons why I fought</em> </strong>
</p><p>“It’s over.” he said, his lips pulling into a small victorious grin. “Special move: <em>Dragon Flare Blast</em>!“</p><p>L-Drago rose out of the Bey, covered in golden armour, which made the dragon look even more powerful and magnificent. Kenta heard his friends’ gasps of shock. L-Drago roared and a ball of flame formed in his maw, which was then fired at Libra.</p><p>“<em>Libra</em>, out of the way!” Yu called, just barely focused.</p><p>The spiral of flames covered the entire stadium, rising high into the sky, as if following L-Drago, climbing the sky. L-Drago suddenly took a dive downwards and there was a massive blast, which rocked the very ground under them. A few minutes later, the fire was gone, leaving a completely cracked and charred stadium behind, with L-Drago spinning in the middle, still ablaze with power. Kenta didn’t know – he could not have known, – but as the power blazed awake, covering his very self, like back in the Temple of Hades... above him loomed the shadow of a <em>certain</em> person.</p><p>The grin never leaving his face, Kenta held out a hand and L-Drago returned to him with a single, swift jump. His fingers folded around the Bey and he gave his opponent a brief glance.</p><p>“Better luck next time, Yu.” he said pleasantly, as he walked away, gazing fondly at his Bey. Neither of the four people present could move.</p><p>That was just a bit too much, for their own minds, that were still reeling from all, that had happened with Nemesis. That... that power had been as scorching, as Ryuga’s had been – speaking of which, neither of them missed the subtle shadow. It was like the former master of L-Drago was just looming behind their friend, lending all his power for Kenta to use the way he wished.</p><p>Breaking out of their trance, four pairs of eyes sought the retreating form of the green-haired teen.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>When I thought that I fought this war alone<br/>You were there by my side on the frontline<br/>And we fought to believe the impossible<br/>When I thought that I fought this war alone<br/>We were one with our destinies entwined<br/>When I thought that I fought without a cause<br/>You gave me the reason why...</em> </strong>
</p><p>Unknown to the gang, Kenta had made a promise, when Ryuga had left him L-Drago. He woved to become strong – to be able to walk in his mentor’s footsteps. And in time, that promise would come true.</p><p>For barely a year after Nemesis’ defeat, Bladers from all corners of the world, would whisper an alias with equal parts fear and respect.</p><p><em>The Dragon Prince</em>.</p><p>The Heir of the Emeror, risen to take his crown...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please leave comments and tell me what you think :3<br/>And yes, the shadow of Ryuga  above Kenta was like the one Sakyo had in ZeroG</p></blockquote></div></div>
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